Marc Murrell: Kids get back to nature at Kansas Heartland Envirothon event

Youths learn about environmental issues at outdoors competition

It’s no secret that there’s plenty to learn about and enjoy no matter your interests. And when youngsters delve into the multitude of topics in the realm of natural resources, it’s a great learning experience.

“This was an event to replace the North American Envirothon that was to be held at the University of Georgia, but was canceled,” said event coordinator Tom Meek, district manager for the Clay County Conservation District. “We put this event together in about 120 days, so it really stretched our planning group to get everything organized, but we were really pleased with the way it turned out.”

Teams consisted of five high school students who were tested in Aquatic Ecology, Forestry, Soils, Wildlife and a current issue topic (Sustainable Agriculture-Locally Grown). A 15-minute oral presentation on a scenario developed by the Kansas Water Office regarding the sustainability of water for agriculture in Kansas was the last part of the competition. Teams from Kansas, Florida, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North and South Dakota competed in the event.

It was a busy week for the kids and the competition. The event kicked off on Monday afternoon and was emceed by Lucas Shivers, Director of Elementary Education for the Manhattan-Ogden school district and a two-time participant in the North American Envirothon as a high school student. The program also included the Peterson Farm brothers, who performed several of their YouTube hits and encouraged students to use social media to promote causes that capture their interest.

Tuesday was training and testing day, according to Meek. Students were transported to Moon Lake on Fort Riley for a 2-hour training session. One student from each team attended the five training sessions. Thad Rhodes and Brian Peterson from the Kansas Forest Service covered Forestry. Kirk Tjelmeland and Bryan Sowards with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism taught Aquatic Ecology. The Wildlife topic was taught by KDWPT’s Matt Smith and Vickie Cikanek. Jeff Hellerich and Chad Remely from the Natural Resource Conservation Service covered Soil and Land Use. The Current Issue was covered by Kerri Ebert with K-State Research and Extension and Kris Etheridge from NRCS.

After the training, students returned to Rock Springs Ranch for testing in each of those areas. That evening, participants visited the Munson Angus Ranch, where they learned about their operation and business.

Meek said the students spent Wednesday touring the Flint Hills with stops at the Miller Ranch near Manhattan, the Konza Prairie, the Flint Hills Discovery Center, West Stadium at KSU and the Wheat Innovation Center. Background information was provided at each stop for later use in the teams’ oral presentations. A banquet was held that evening at the Sunset Zoo in Manhattan.

On Thursday, the students were introduced to the oral presentation scenario. Tracy Streeter, director of the Kansas Water Office, provided background on water concerns in Kansas. Doug Spencer, NRCS rangeland management specialist, discussed water issues that impact Kansas ranchers. Susan Metzger, chief of policy and planning for the water office, then presented the specific problem for the students, which involved a fictional Kansas family with ranching interests in the Flint Hills above Council Grove Reservoir and a feedlot in the Garden City area. The students had four hours to prepare a 15 minute presentation, complete with visual aids, addressing ways the ranching family could enhance sustainability through their use of water.

The top two teams, based on their oral presentations the day prior, went into a final round on Friday to decide first place in the oral competition. After that was complete, Jake Worcester, deputy secretary of agriculture for Kansas, spoke to the group and awarded medals to the first place teams in each category and to the top three teams overall.

Texas won the competition on the strength of their oral presentation. The Kansas team from Chapman High School placed first in three of the individual categories — Soils, Wildlife (by a tie-breaker over Florida) and the Current Issue.

Meek said it was interesting and rewarding to get the impressions and perspective from kids around the country.

“I was especially interested to get acquainted with the students from Miami and Houston, and introduce them to the Flint Hills” Meek said. “One of the favorite activities of the Tennessee team was to lie on the hill at Rock Springs and look at the stars. They said they don’t get to see the stars at home.

“This was one of the brightest and most respectful groups of teenagers I’ve ever been around,” Meek concluded. “It was a pleasure to broaden their horizons a bit.”